CBC pushes fake news to spur a racial divide

As much as I like to rip into CBC, I normally expect better from veteran reporter David Common. He’s normally much more on the ball than his latest story on the Gerald Stanley/Coulten Boushie file that has sparked claims of a racist justice system and promises by the prime minister to change the justice system.

This story, which aired on CBC’s The National – Canada’s third most watched national newscast – and was aired on the much more listened to World at Six radio program was so riddled with holes that it had to be be corrected multiple times on the web and now the state broadcaster will air brief corrections. The full excuse, including blaming the Mounties for shoddy journalism, is down at the bottom of this article.

But the damage from CBC’s original reporting is done. It pushed a completely false narrative and helped inflame race relations in an already tense situation.

If you haven’t heard by now, Gerald Stanley was acquitted of second degree murder charges in the death of Coulten Boushie. You may have heard the story described as “White farmer” not guilty in killing of “indigenous man.” Normally in the media we are told not to include race in the story unless it is central to the case.

I would argue that a dispassionate look at what happened that lead to Boushie’s death would see the media leave race out of this story. But to most of the mainstream media this case has only ever been about race and the injustice done to a native man. It’s as if they believe that if this one case would just go their way, reconciliation would be complete.

So back to David Common and fellow journalist and investigative producer Chelsea Gomez.

Their story, which was first posted March 6 and then updated several times – as of this time the last update is March 11 – claimed the RCMP did a sloppy job investigating Gerald Stanley as a murder suspect.

And if you listen to their telling of the story it would be a sloppy job, except it isn’t true.

The original story claimed two things that have been proven false, not that CBC will admit it. They claimed in their original story that…

“After being taken into custody on Aug. 9, 2016, Gerald Stanley was photographed at the nearest RCMP detachment, but was released shortly after and allowed to return the following day to file his statement.”

Why should they have seized Stanley’s clothes? As evidence for gun powder residue and blood splatter. We’ve all watched CSI, we all know this is standard procedure. So why would the RCMP not do this?

Well it turns out they did.

CBC made up two fake news claims and then found “experts” to comment on them, denounce the RCMP as being sloppy and then get Boushie’s family to denounce the system for failing an indigenous man.

These two claims are proven false by a document that was agreed to by the judge hearing the case, the crown prosecutor assigned to it and defence counsel.

These facts were adjudicated in court as all sides wrestled with what portions of Gerald Stanley’s statements made to police could be deemed admissible in court. The facts clearly state that Stanley was held in a cell overnight after his arrest, that his clothing was seized from him during that stay, that he wasn’t released and allowed to come back and make a statement but rather held and then interrogated for four hours.

And yet CBC, our state broadcaster, the one our prime minister holds up as a glowing example, publishes what is literally fake news and then adjusts their story twice and keeps it going.

The comments made by their experts were comments made when those experts were told lies, like Stanley leaving and coming back or the Mounties not seizing his clothing as evidence. So the story has been adjusted but those comments about how “sloppy” the RCMP was stand.

Now I can’t take credit for any of this, that all goes to John Gormley, radio talk show host in Saskatoon and Regina who laid the facts bare on his show earlier today and on his Twitter feed.

It’s too bad that CBC won’t be upfront about their mistakes and our mainstream media, obsessed with any potential false statement by Trump south of the border, won’t take up this story and demand CBC be held accountable for pushing fake news.

The worst part is, these aren’t simple mistakes, these are huge mistakes aided and abetted by CBC chasing a story that fits their existing narrative.

Listen to John Gormley here as he lays this all out in greater detail and a more entertaining fashion. CBC’s excuse, is below John’s podcast. A correction will be broadcast on The World at Six and The National but unlike the original story it won’t be played up and it won’t lead to follow on stories by CBC or other media.

UPDATE: John Gormley will join me at 8:05 ET tonight to discuss this evolving story. Listen at CFRA.com or on the iHeart Radio app.

A previous version of this story stated Gerald Stanley was released after his arrest — and a statement was not taken until the following day. We have since obtained new information showing that, while his statement was not taken until the day following his arrest, he was not released. We had also previously reported there was no indication his clothing was seized. The new information shows that it was. We contacted the RCMP prior to our reporting, but they declined to comment on these specific issues. We stand by the remainder of our reporting.

41 Comments

This is disgusting. Our R.C.M.P. and City Police face alot of criticism and have to be very careful doing anything. For CBC to lie about them and then not recant it is so unjust that CBC should be charged. Thanks for the notice, otherwise we would never have known.

CBC are liars, they favor the Indigenous obviously and you can bet that anyone who is a farmer, was a farmer, and supports Gerald and Mrs. Stanley will be up in arms over this reporting by CBC and many of the Indigenous!! And why wasn’t one or all of the Boushie crew charged for their criminal acts and especially the assault of Mrs. Stanley?????

Glenda you stunned can’t. Do you l ow they weren’t charged? Cause I know the truth. i know the truth cause at 5 years old, I was taught to think first and speak second. you obviously did not learn this and your racist parents just passed their traits onto you.

Kevin, you racist ass, it’s widely known that they were not charged but given immunity instead, as the only way the RCMP could possibly hope to get the truth out of them was to let them walk free. Unfortunately, as we found out at trial, even that wasn’t enough to get these theiving bastards to tell the truth. Maybe YOU should have done as you were told as a child, because you obviously DON’T know the truth, yet ran your mouth anyway. Now go to your room.

They must not be liberal voters(Stanley’s) cause if they were all of those guy’s would be in jail for one guy hitting a women, this is an example of liberal agenda being forced on a bunch of sheep(liberal voters) in order to create a divide and it is very typical of the liberal party.

Hmmmmm..,.the Duffy ‘scandal’ ran every five minutes on the CBC for fifteen months ….until five minutes after the election. The ‘Power Panels’ were akin to puppets on a string calling for Harpers ouster. Craig Oliver isn’t a reporter he’s a Trudeau/Butts cheerleader. Let’s call it….the CBC got a one billion dollar payout from the Trudeau campaign and have been promised double that after 2019….what kind of “National Broadcaster” is the CBC ? Or is it just a third party lobby for the Liberals….like the Teachers, Police and Civil Servant unions? Should they have to disclose the amount of foreign (mostly American) money they all receive to support the left? Another acronym for Fake News is CBC.

It certainly has! Tbey are taking tax dollars, from Conser- atives & LIBERALS BUT
NEVER SAY A GOOD WORD ABOUT ANY CONSERVATIVE SUCH AS ANDREW SCHEER, DOUG FORD +NEVER A
DECENT WORD ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP!

doing what they do best at the expense of the taxpayer . they and air Canada aren’t fit to have the name Canada as a part of their name and they should have to stand on their own without taxpayers funding these asshats

Leave Air Canada out of the picture – You know nothing about how it operates or anything else other than putting your butt in a seat to get from A to B. Air Canada is not a subsidized company in case you didn’t know – It became a profitable private company in 1988 and after which, the Govt was no longer able to rip off their earnings. As far as CBC is concerned, I’m with you on that.

The current Liberal Party and the Liberal left-wing media are heavily intent on pushing the racial agenda at any cost. By looking under every rock and exaggerating to the point of lying, every claim is laced with how some poor innocent (insert any color except white)caught in some “little ol’ crime” has been terribly mistreated by the law and/or the white establishment.
The left wing bias now prevalent in our country and media is overwhelming and extremely damaging to all Canadians.

“We have since obtained new information showing that, while his statement was not taken until the day following his arrest, he was not released. We had also previously reported there was no indication his clothing was seized. The new information shows that it was.”

This “new information” makes it seem like the RCMP lied to the CBC because it would have been they who would have provided details on Mr. Stanley’s arrest, statement and release, UNLESS someone in the CBC fabricated those facts to stir the pot. The question now is, “Who’s head should roll for spreading these lies?”

Wayne Warren CRTC should step in on this information and lift the Public Broadcasters (Liars) Licence for good as this is a criminal act on the CBC’s record and they must like all others be tried in a court of Law for lies on an actual murder case just to serve their purpose to look like they are actually trying to influence peoples theories of what really happened. That is tampering with the Law especially in a murder case just to forward their lieing agenda to change the vedict in the case. I have no idea what you think but know from many trial’s that I have witnessed this is a complete travestity of the media and the complete use of false information in trying to influence Canadians differently. Again CRTC doi your job or you will all be out of jobs for allowing this to happen as you have removed lesser bodies from broadcasting just for language alone.

Stanley did do something very smart to help himself. That is, hired a top lawyer to get him off. I haven’t checked recently (thank goodness), but the last time I looked, a top tier criminal defense lawyer can cost you around $1,500.00 per hour. They leave you broke, but you do not go to jail. A good criminal defense lawyer can make chopped liver out of any “expert”. Most people who don’t know think going to court is about “justice”. That’s not how it actually works. It’s all about winning and losing. And usually, whoever has the best lawyer wins.

Nice to see people in the media are opening their eyes to how corrupt our system is. Puppet Trudeau and his leaders wants to shift our attention away from connecting the dots of the root of what is truly going on in Canada and around the globe. Keep on opening the minds so we can start using our conscience to guide us and not GREED.

Well you know as well as I do that the first reports are always the one’s with the most impact. So if the first report is a lie then all future reports will only be perceived as cover-ups. And once you’ve got the natives all fired up, its no easy task to calm them down, regardless of the facts.

Oh you are so correct Kwasney, Trudeau Had no right, no business making his horrifically incorrect statement to the Bushie family that “we need to do a better job” ….making the country think Stanley did this Racially …… Race has never ever been a part of this. This entire episode is somehow working in favor of JT. for him to use for his benefit ….. despicable leadership! CBC is disgusting.

The true reason why the CBC is so critical of Canada’s national police force is that RCMP stands for “Revenue CoMPetition” in their mindset!! Another perfect example of this budget bias: Over the last decade, the CBC have done nothing but completely TRASH the F-35 procurement as a 9 Billion dollar waste! Isn’t it strange that over the same decade, the CBC received a near equivalent amount of federal funding yet never reports on it’s own wasteful ways?! I suppose a decade of Schitt’s Creek, Murdoch Mysteries and Little Mosque on the Prairie is more important than replacing 35 year old outdated aircraft we currently use, with safe, modern and capable equipment our forces require to protect us for the next 30+ years! Wouldn’t be surprised if they believe RCAF means – Resources Could Acquire for Film!!

Another conservative government may have meant the end of the CBC. It was a possibility. Justin becomes the saviour and a monster is born. His monster. I expect that a government funded broadcasting station can be a good thing but this one no longer is.

I’ve read the previous posts an echo the sentiments of disgust and outrage. However this is actually a really big deal when the government sponsored mainstream media formulates a fiction for any reason. When that fiction casts doubt on the competence of the RCMP and their diligence when conducting an investigation into an incident involving a fatality is more than scary. Furthermore when these baseless allegations throw doubt on our judicial systems ability to function impartially we have come to a very very dangerous point. When it’s made to appear that you cannot trust our law enforcement agencies or the rule of law what do we have left? It’s an extraordinarily dangerous and precarious position for the citizenry of our nation to not have firm belief in both of those institutions. Mistakes will always be possible, but to engineer a narrative that is completely bogus to serve a politically motivated racial agenda is a heinous abuse of “journalistic” licence. Shame on you CBC, it’s about time to get some integrity back into journalism.

The reporting on this story is far beyond shameful by our “state” owned media. The point that seems to stick in my mind is the way the jury was picked but, NOT reported in any accurate way by any media outlet except for one that I was fortunate enough to get my hands on. Being that I am in Yellowknife where the south print media is not carried due to the cost of transport and low sales. The Feb.14 Edmonton Sun published a story by Candice Malcolm with the head line; JURY POOL DIVERSE. according to her source which was picked as a potential juror (but not identify) stated that there was in fact 200 First Nation jurors out of the 700 potential jurors. I can not stress the importance of taking the time to seek out this side of the story. Twitter@CandiceMalcolm Also in the same copy on the very next page is an story from Lorne Gunther siting the danger of the Trudeau government attempts to manipulate our justice system. He referenced a 1999 supreme court decision known as R vrs Glaude. I am unclear how Canadians will be able to wake up and smell the coffee before the next election. Thank-you for you courage for getting the “facts” out.

Hi When would we see the biggest favor done for us and defund this pathetic excuse for a broadcaster? Totally dump this deadbeat organization, save the taxpayers tons of money and this taxpayer funded fiasco out once and for all. At the same time remember to tie Trudeau and the rest of his libtards on the same wagon and dump them too. Their performance is exactly the same. FAKE in every way but not intentional. They are just so uuh uuh uuh ahhh clueless.

I call on the people of Canada to demand our new Government of Canada after the next election to hold a referendum on whether or not to de-fund the CBC !! It is well past time that this propaganda machine was made to stand on their own merits ! It is nothing short of ridiculous that Canadians are being lied to by a state funded media !! The CBC has their own agenda and is being used as a tool to divide Canada for political reasons. No country should have a state funded media as this media becomes nothing more than a propaganda tool of the government !! Canada does not need in any way to have a state funded media to promote Canadian culture and Canadian values. Just ask the government of the day in Canada under the Truedope Liberals. We are a country of no culture. It was Justinafool Trudope that said this !! It was also Trudope that said we will be the first post national state !! Diversity is our strength Trudope and the CBC push on Canadians. This is another lie from the globalist government of trudope and his propaganda machine the CBC !! United we stand ..Divided we fall !! You need look no farther than what is happening in England with their BBC, the state funded media propaganda machine !! And the rest of Europe with state controlled media and the governance of the European Union !! Divide and Conquer !!